Single and double contact electric socket



oct. 23, 1934. J. M ROPER SINGLE AND DOUBLE CONTACT ELECTRIC SOCKET Filed Nov. 23, 1935 Eig.

OH/v M. /P PE 3/ Z 30 INVENTOR0 A: 2K5- d. sa Z /Lgolg 0 W7@ ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 23, 1934 N UNITED s1m-1.-.'si' PirENfrlorl-ics;

. 'f 1,978,117"y M SINGLE-,AND DouBLE courrier-)ELECTRIC r v SOCKET l, JohnMRoper, washinti, o. f pplicationNovember 23, 1933, Serial No. 699,974 1 A Vsclaiins.. `(c1. nsf-32s) (Granted under the Vact of March 3, 1881i,V `as 1 amended April 30, `19%; 3'10 '0. G. 757) rI'his invention relates to both a singlev and a double contact electric socket v and has for an object to provide animprovedelectrical socket V l, especiallyfor use on aircraft both of the lighter and heavier than airtype wherethe economy of space and weight` are desirable `features and relates more particularly tothe adaptation to both the single and the `double contact of the plug 7 l sockettype of the inventions shown in the appli- "i cations serial Nos. 699,426 and 699,427, med

November 23, 1933, concurrently yherewith on a single and on` a double contact socket by the same inventor. l

A further object of this invention is` to provide an electrical socket especially adapted for holding electrical lamps ofthe bayonet joint type for use on vehicles of all descriptions, both vehicles used in the air, on the ground, on the water, and under the water.

" A still further object of this invention is to provide` a` lamp socket Yoccupying a l minimum amount of space and weight which will be especially useful on vehicles such as aircraft, and more particularly on the wing surfaces and edges, so as to receive and hold a lamp in such positions without seriously affecting the aerodynamic characteristics of thewing surfaces.

A` still further object of this invention is to provide an electrical `socket wherein the terminal is Xedly secured to the Tconductor member and thelamp is yieldably held in contact with the terminal rather than the conventional type wherein the lamp is xedly held in the socket and the terminal is yieldably held against the lamp.

With the above and other objects in view, the

invention consists in the construction, combination andarrangement of parts as will be hereinafter. more fully described.

, Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification in which like reference characters indicatecorresponding parts throughout the several views and in which: 1

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the assembled socket; l

Fig. 2 is a cross section on line 2-2 of Fig. l; Figs. 3 and 4 arejtopand side elevations of the socket shell per se;

Fig. 5 is a cross section of the socket shell on line 5-5 of Figs. 3 and 4;

Figs. 6 and 7 are top and side elevations of the plug socket per se;

Fig. 8 is a cross section on lines 8-8 of Figs. 6

,. and 7;

Fig. 9 is a top elevation of the socket housing;

Fig. 10 is a top elevation of the double contact terminal; 1

Fig. 11 is a. cross section onthe line 11--11 of Figui;` c Y,

Fig. 12 is aside `elevation o'f a single `contact 60. terminal. I

There is shown at 10 the assembled socket. This socket` 10 comprises a socket housingv 11 having aninwardly projecting apertured rim or flange l2 on which rim is located a bossor finger 65 13.` A socket shell 14 is provided'whose external diameter is slightly less than the diameter of the aperture in rim 12. This socket shell 14 is provided with an externally `projecting flange or base 15, the external diameter of which is substanrotating relative to the housing 11. Placed be- 75 tween the rim 12 of housing 11 and the base 15 of shell14 is a compression spring 17, it being obvious' that as shown in Fig. 2 the socket shell 14 may move against the action of thecompression spring 17 within the limit set by the 80` by the slot 16." The socket shell 141s held in assembled'position by the presence of the plug socket 18, which is placed withinthe other end of the housing lland secured therein by means of `a pair of pins or rivets 19 secured through the 35` plug socket 18 and the housing 11. The top of the plug socket 181s provided with a pair of .upwardly projecting guide lingers 20 which serve to limit the downward movement of the socket shell 14 within the housing 11. Placed within the housing 11 `between the socket shell 14 and the plug socket 18 is a contact terminal 21 of the double contact type. Thisterminal contact 21 is formed by molding an insulation material such as rubber, phenolic condensation product commercially known as Vbakelite,` or the like, and includes two spaced S-shaped contact inserts 22, each contact insert 22 projecting about the terminal assembly 21"as a contact hump 23 adapted to make contact with one of the contacts of a lamp and as a lower contact hump 24 adapted to make contact with a contact of a plug inserted in the plug socket 18.

The terminal assembly 21 has a thin rim or flange 25 provided'with a pair of opposite slots 105 26, the slots 26 cooperating` with the upwardly projecting guide iingers 20 on the plug socket 18. When thus assembled as shown in Fig. 1 the contact terminal 21 is adapted to be pressed yieldingly against the base 15 of the socket shell 14 110 by means of a conventional plug inserted in the bayonet joint slots 27 of the plug socket 18. Similar bayonet joint slots are provided in the socket shell 14 to receive the bayonet pins on a conventional lamp used therein so that compression spring 17 yields to permit both the plug to be placed in the plug socket 18 and the lamp to be placed in the socket shell 14 and thus yieldably holds the lamp against the terminal 21 and the terminal against the plug in the plug socket 18. With this single compression springv 17 thus serving this double purpose there is no possibility of any corrosion affecting the firmness of thev contact between the several members or interfering with the completion of the circuit therethrough. 1

When a single contact lamp is used, the single contact terminal 30 shown in Fig. 12 is provided.

This terminal 30 has a single central contact insert 31 centrally placed therethrough and provided with a contact hump 32 on the top thereof to contact with the lamp and a contact hump 33 to contact with the plug in the plug socket. This terminal 30 is merely substituted for the terminal 21 when assembling the socket otherwise the remaining construction is identical with that already disclosed. f

It will be understood that the above description and accompanying drawing comprehend only the general and preferred embodiment of my invention and that various changes in construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims without sacriiicing any of the advantages of my invention.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

I claim:

1. A lamp socket comprising a housing, a socket shell adapted to receive a lamp, means for yieldably securing 'said socket shell at one end of said housing, a Contact member in' said housing, a plug socket xed in the other end of said housing securing said Contact member and said socket shell against disassembly, said yieldably securing means comprising an internally projecting apertured rim on said housing, an externally projecting base on said socket shell, a compression spring secured therebetween, an internally projecting nger'on said housing rim, and a slot in said socket shell cooperating with said finger to prevent relativerotation thereof.

2. A lamp socket comprising a housing, a socket shell adapted to receive a lamp, means for yieldably securing said socket shell at one end of said housing, a contact .member inv said housing, a plug socket fixed in the other end of said housing securing said contact member and said socket shell against disassembly, said yieldably securing means comprising an internally projecting apertured rim on said housing, an externally projecting base on said' socket shell, a compression spring secured therebetween, an internally projecting nger on said housing rim, a

slot in said socket shell cooperating with said nger to prevent relative rotation thereof, upwardly projecting guide nger means on said plug socket and slot means in said contact member cooperating with said upwardly projecting guide lingers preventing rotation of said contact member relative to said plug socket and permitting yielding motion axially of said housing against said compression spring.

3. A lamp socket comprising a housing, a socket shell adapted to receive a lamp, means for yieldably securing said socket shell at one end of said housing, a contact member in said housing, a plug socket xed in the other end 0f said housing securing said contact member and said socket shell against disassembly, said yieldably securing means comprising an internally projecting apertured rim on said housing, an externally projecting base on said socket shell, a compression spring secured therebetween, an internally projecting nger on said housing rim, a slot in said socket shell cooperating with said iinger to prevent relative rotation thereof, upwardly projecting guide finger means on said plug socket, slot means in said contact member cooperating with said upwardly projecting guide fingers preventing rotation of said contact member relative to said plug socket and permitting yielding motion axially of said housing against said compression spring, said contact member comprising an insulating member and a contact insert projecting through opposite sides of said insulating member and provided with contact humps externally of said insulating member.

4. A lamp socket comprising a housing, a socket shell adapted to receive a lamp, means for yieldably securing said socket shell at one end of said housing, a Contact member in said housing, a plug socket iixed in the other end of said housing securing said contact member and said socket shell against disassembly, said yieldably securing means comprising an internally projecting apertured rim on said housing, an externally projecting base on said socket shell, a compression spring secured therebetween, an internally projecting finger on said housing rim, a slotv in said socket shell cooperating with said iinger to prevent relative rotation thereof, upwardly projecting guide iinger means on said plug socket, slot means in said contact member cooperating with said upwardly projecting guide fingers preventing rotation of said contact member relative to said plug socket and permitting yielding motion axially of said housing against said compressio-n spring; said contact member comprising an insulating member, an S-shaped contact insert projecting through opposite sides of said insulating member and provided with contact humps externally of said insulating member.

5. In a lamp socket, a contact member comprising an insulation member and a pair'of spaced contact inserts extending through said insulation member, said contact inserts being S- shaped, one loop of said S-shape provding a lamp contact and the other loop of said S-shape providing JOHN M. ROPER. 

